He chuckled a little. “You know, two hours ago, we didn’t even know we wanted a baby. And now you’re crying because we might not have one.”
“I know, it’s silly—“
“No, it’s not silly.” He pressed his lips to her forehead. “If we lose this baby, maybe we can figure out another way to have one. We could even adopt.”
“Okay... A baby...” She gave him a weepy smile. “But it’s a secret. We won’t tell anybody, right?”
“We’ll do whatever you want. But won’t you start showing soon? The doctor said the ultrasound showed you’re already at least seven weeks—she could see a heartbeat. And she said you could be as much as ten weeks according to when the nausea started.”
“I don’t know. I didn’t show very early with the girls. I can probably hide it until I’m about sixteen weeks.”
Steven’s face fell. “Oh really? That long?”
“You want to tell people?”
“Of course I do—I’m excited.”
“I’ll make a deal with you. If you’ll wait until I’m starting to show, I’ll let you be the one to tell everyone.”
“Hmmm. And perhaps we could add something else to the deal?”
“What’s that?”
“I think we should keep you in bed as much as possible.”
“No. The doctor specifically said bed rest wasn’t necessary, and it wouldn’t prevent a miscarriage anyway.”
“Who said anything about resting?” He began to nuzzle her neck.
“Steven,” she squeaked, and they both dissolved into laughter.
“What are we going to tell everyone for now?” asked Anne.
“I don’t know. You’re the one who looked up the differential diagnosis when you thought it was stomach cancer.” Then his face was suddenly stern. “And by the way, we’re not through with the discussion about why you kept that from me for so long.”
“I know it was wrong. We’ll talk about it later. Okay?”
“No fair flashing those big brown puppy dog eyes at me. We’ll drop it for now. But we will discuss it, because it will never happen again.”
“But as for what to tell the others... hmmm... Let’s go with stomach ulcer. It explains the loss of appetite and weight loss. So here’s the plan. You tell everyone it was only an ulcer and I’m embarrassed about it. Then no one will ask me about it, and I won’t have to lie.”
“But I’ll have to lie.”
“But you’re so much better at it than I am. Please?”
“Fine, I’ll do it. But you know this could backfire on you.”
“No it won’t. I feel better—everything’s settled for now.”
“But one more thing.” His bright blue eyes twinkled. “Let’s go home and celebrate before we go to work.”
“I don’t know. What if the boss finds out?”
“I’m willing to bet he’d approve.”*****
Emily regarded her mom with suspicion. Something didn’t quite add up. She’d come by her cubicle to assure her everything was fine, but she’d brought Steven along to be her mouthpiece.
“So, you have an ulcer? And you passed out because of an ulcer?”
“She passed out because she was dehydrated,” Steven clarified. “But she’ll be fine since they’ve given her medicine.”
“And have you called Charlie to explain? She’s worried out of her mind.”
“I thought you could call her,” Anne suggested in a pleading voice.
“Why wouldn’t you call her yourself?”
“Oh... I could... but I thought you’d be better at making her not worry. You’ve always been able to calm your sister down.”
“And where is this ulcer?”
“What do you mean?”
“You can have ulcers in different areas. I know that because my boss in Fort Worth had an ulcer and explained it to me. At the time I thought it was too much information, but now I’m glad I know. So where is your ulcer?”
“Uhmm, in my stomach?”
“So it’s a peptic ulcer?”
“Uhmm.” Anne glanced at Steven. “That’s right. Isn’t it honey?”
His lips pulled back in a grimace. “Sure, that’s what the doctor said.”
“And what tests did they do to confirm it?”
“Oh, I was so out of it, I don’t remember.” Her mom studied the water bottle in her hands. “What tests did they do, sweetheart?”
“Of course, I don’t know what tests were performed, since I wasn’t allowed to be with you.” Did Steven sound annoyed?
“Y’all didn’t get much information from the doctor this morning,” Emily observed. “What—”
Spencer’s arrival interrupted her question.
“Mrs. Gherring, I’m glad you’re okay. You really scared us yesterday. What happened?”
Anne pressed her lips together, glancing at Steven.
“She has a peptic ulcer. They gave her medicine, and she’ll be perfectly fine.” The tone of his voice closed the subject from further discussion.
Spencer nodded. “My dad had one of those. He takes medicine, and he’s great. I think it’s only dangerous if it’s a bleeding ulcer.”
“Is yours a bleeding ulcer, Mom?”
“No. It’s just a plain one. No blood. It’s nothing to worry about.”
“Hey! Since you’re okay, do you guys want to go with us on the hike this weekend?” Spencer’s eyes were bright and eager.
“Sure.” Her mom smiled.
“No, I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Steven pinned Anne with narrowed eyes. “It might hurt your ulcer.”
“My ulcer will be fine. It’s only a hike.”
“But what if you fall? It might be dangerous. It might… It might turn into a bleeding ulcer.”
“I won’t go if you don’t want me to. But it would be fun.” She added in a quiet voice. “We should have fun together while we can.”
“Can we have a word in private?” He grabbed her hand, dragging her down the hall.
“Do you have hiking boots?” Spencer broke Emily out of her reverie.
“Me? Hiking boots? Why would I want hiking boots?”
“Oh... I thought you were going on the hike this weekend.”
“Well, you assumed I wanted to go. I never actually said I was going. It’s not really my thing.”
His face fell.
“I’m sorry... I understand. It’s only a bunch of people going as friends. But I didn’t mean to push you into something you didn’t want to do. I thought... You know... It could be fun.”
He patted her shoulder and she jumped at the tingle that shot through her. He jerked his hand
